Student Debt; A Heavier Load for Young Borrowers of Color - Campus Progress: By now, just about everyone knows how far reaching the impact of student debt is. A recent report from Pew found that it now affects 1 in 5 households, but what doesn't get as reported on as frequently is it's disproportionate impact on borrowers of color. Make no mistake, student debt isn't just an education issue, it's a racial justice issue, too.
The most recent numbers estimate that 37 million borrowers and their families are affected by student debt and total student debt has already surpassed credit card debt and auto debt, hitting the $1 trillion mark recently according to some estimates. Student debt can overwhelm young borrowers and for so many, it stands squarely between them and their middle class aspirations. And like so many problems the country faces, people of color are hit the hardest.
Campus Progress and the Center for American Progress recently released a report entitled “The Student Debt Crisis,” detailing the history of student lending, the factors that led up to the crisis, and the overall impact student debt is having on young borrowers and their families. The report also outlines how young people of color are dealing with this looming economic crisis that has so far only served to aggravate the preexisting racial gaps in higher education and economic opportunity.
